Always & Forever
by hahalolsmileyface
Summary: SasuSaku one-shot. She thought he had been dead. She thought she'd have to literally die to see him again... but he had come back and stopped her from doing something so pointless... He came back.


Pre-A/N: Hello there :) Always & Forever is a saying me and my boyfriend always tell each other. To us it means how long our love for each other would last and how long we would stay together if we could. It just tells the other how much they mean to them. And he means a lot to me. So this one is for him and those who find love.

This is also my first one shot and probably my only one-shot. Enjoy.

The one song that inspired me to do this was this one: Verloren By: Ninth Parallel

* * *

_**Here is to us  
And the things you make me feel**_  
_**For without you**_  
_**I would not know the meaning of love**_

* * *

Sakura clenched the sheets of the bed she lay in.

It hurt. More than she knew.

A tear welled up and spilled down to be soaked up by the newly changed pillow.

God, she missed him. She missed him so much.

She had never known that the cost for peace would've been so high... or deep.

It was deep... because it had taken away her love, her life, her happiness. And due to that, her heart had become so damaged and uncontrolled, too scarred for it to be put back together.

So much pain. She wished it would stop.

A sob tore from her bruised throat. She had cried too much already but it seemed she just couldn't stop.

There would be no more war, yes. And of course it was a good thing. Why wouldn't it be.

Another choke.

But there wouldn't be any more of _him_.

Of Sasuke.

His scent, his smile, his voice. The things he said, his gentle embrace.

Gone.

Sakura turned into her pillow and screamed, clutching the sheets to her chest where she wanted to tear her own heart out. That physical sense of pain would seem better than this... this emotional hurt, this raging turmoil.

She screamed again and sobbed once more. Her hair was in a sticky, sweaty mess. It covered her face and her neck in an intricate web. She brought her knees up to her chest and curled into a tight ball.

Why couldn't she disappear?

Why couldn't she have died with him?

The other side of the bed felt cold and forbidding.

Sakura coughed and tried to breath in oxygen but crying so hard had left her lungs unable to expand normally.

She choked out what little air she had managed to get into her body and tried again, this time wanting to get out of bed. She could die now. The war may be over but it had also taken the light that brightened her day. The light that, once extinguished, had left her in a vast, empty darkness that had her screaming in fear and pain.

The pain.

It hurt.

Sakura stumbled out of bed, and somehow made it to the door, breathing erratically. She wrenched it open, the night breeze cooling her red and swollen face. It felt good but the air was not the thing she needed at the moment.

It was a place.

A place to get to.

She already had a destination in mind.

The last time she had seen him, they had been just outside the walls of Konoha. She closed her eyes as she made her way to the gates. She tried to remember his hug, his words, his confident smile, convincing her that once the war was over, they'd have their happily ever after.

His happily ever after.

Her happily ever after.

Where was it now?

Ripped to shreds, scattered in the wind, in lies and hopelessness.

She shouldn't have believed him.

She shouldn't have... shouldn't have fallen so hard... so deeply in love.

If she had known the pain it brought would be this great, this suffocating, she would have run away... would have fled, would have avoided this feeling, would have shut it down.

Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled forward, the gates looming into view and... a shadow.

A person? A ninja? Would they stop her? Stop her from having her relief. She hoped they wouldn't. If they suffered through this pain for three days straight they would want to die too.

They would want to die too if it gave them ease... and if it meant seeing their love again.

Feeling their love again.

She wanted to feel his love again. Her fingers trembled as she slumped to the floor, unable to go on. Sakura bit her lip, tasting blood but not caring.

She spread her shaky palms over the flat of her stomach, over her main chakra point. She was ready for it to be over with, ready for the orb to be corrupt with malfunctions.

"Sakura..."

A whisper... she paused. Someone had whispered her name. She looked up. The figure had not moved...

She studied it for a moment then shook her head. Maybe she just imagined it. Either way she was ready. It wouldn't stop her. Nothing could.

"Sakura, what are you doing...?" the voice softly asked and she shot her head up. She knew that voice... she'd know it anywhere.

Sakura stared intently at the figure, tears already starting to gather in her eyes. It stepped slowly into the moonlight and she stopped breathing. It wasn't true. They had told her he died. They had said he was never coming back...

This was a trick.

This was an illusion.

And she sobbed and shook her head.

She must want him so bad that she was hallucinating.

But as she stared at him longer, he broke into a bitter smile. "Sakura, what are you doing...?" he repeated and she stood up, a stunned expression on her face. _It must be a clone_... _It must be a genjutsu... It must be something else..._ she tried to convince herself but the hope that was blooming in her chest kept telling her otherwise.

She took a step forward... and so did he. Her breath came back to her and she breathed fast and quiet. Another step, then another. And he followed suit. Now she was walking toward him, disbelieving, already closing half the distance until she broke into an all-out sprint.

Her heart beat fast as he came closer, arms outstretched and she ran into his arms as he twirled her around, both of them hugging the other close. "I- I thought you-" she blubbered, not wanting this dream to end. "They said you were... d-" she cut herself off. She was not ready to say the word in fear of having it come true. "D- De-" she tried again but Sasuke turned his head so his lips pressed against her temple.

He kissed it gently, running his fingers through her hair, relishing the moment he never would've thought he'd feel again. "Shh." he cooed. "It's okay. I'm here now." he repeated over and over again. "I'm here."

Sakura's lips quivered, scared to have him slip right through her fingers. "How did... how...?" she helplessly trailed off as she looked into his dark eyes, ones that always seemed darker than night.

He smiled softly, his fingers brushing against her cheek. "I found a way." he leaned down to kiss her, their lips a breadth apart as their foreheads touched. "I knew that I would... Remember?" his hand intertwined with hers and brought it up between their chests. "Always and forever."

Sakura, despite herself, laughed disbelievingly. She also let out a small, shaky sigh of relief. "You're right." she whispered softly, delicately, as a tear dripped from her cheek down to their joined hands. She leaned her head against his chest, hearing the strong and steady thump of his heart. _He's alive_. she thought to herself as his arms encircled her, keeping them both in an almost still moment in time, oblivious to the waking world around them while they both basked in the comfort of their significant other.

"You're right." she whispered once more.

"Always and forever."

* * *

A/N: sooo yeahh. that was my one shot ^_^ let me know what you thought of it. i also chose Sasuke to be her lover because he was the first guy that popped into my mind. probably a little OOC but it's okay.

until next time


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